Giving

BuddhistRoad
Dynamics in Buddhist Networks in Eastern Central Asia 6th–14th Centuries
BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3
GIVING AND THE CREATION OF

MERIT: BUDDHIST DONORS AND
DONOR DEDICATIONS FROM
10TH CENTURY DUNHUANG
HENRIK H. SØRENSEN
BUDDHISTROAD PAPER
Peer reviewed
ISSN: 2628-2356
DOI: 10.13154/rub.br.152.128
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Please quote this paper as follows:
Sørensen, Henrik H., “Giving and the Creation of Merit: Buddhist Donors and
Donor Dedications from 10th Century Dunhuang,” BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3
(2020).
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GIVING AND THE CREATION OF MERIT:
BUDDHIST DONORS AND DONOR DEDICATIONS
FROM 10TH CENTURY DUNHUANG
HENRIK H. SØRENSEN
Abstract
This essay is devoted to a presentation and discussion of the manner in which Buddhist
offerings and donations were made in the context of Buddhism in Dunhuang (敦煌)
during the 10th century. It investigates the motives for making offerings, with special
attention to religious paintings and holy books. I provide several elucidating case
stories for each category, as well as a number of special or unusual examples. The
basic idea is to give detailed insight into the motives and typologies underlying the
activities of Buddhist donors and patrons under Guiyijun rule (851–1036?, 歸義軍,
Return-to-Allegiance Army).
1. Introduction
When looking at the phenomena of giving in a specific Buddhist context,

it is clear that the creation and operation of Buddhist enterprises, whether
they be proper temples and monasteries, cave-sanctuaries, stūpas, etc., or
entire holy sites, such as is the case with many of the Buddhist nodes of
the Silk Road, could not exist or function without the support of donations,
even generous ones at that, or income in some form. Hence, the presence
of systems of donations and formalised modes of patronage were vital to
the upkeep of the Buddhist communities existing in any given locale.1
Religious paintings and copies of holy scriptures were among the most
common votive offerings presented to the Buddhist communities existing
along the Silk Road, not the least of which is the Mogao Caves (Chin.
Mogao ku 莫高窟) at Dunhuang, from which numerous examples of both
kinds of offerings have been documented. This documentation expresses
____________
1
For a recent but general study on the practice of giving (Skt. dāna) in mainly Indian
Buddhism, see Jason M. McCombs, “Mahâyâna and the Gift: Theories and Practices” (PhD
diss., UCLA, 2014).
BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3. Sørensen, “Giving and the Creation of Merit”
3
itself primarily in texts of donor dedications that record the deed of
donation. These records are common for offerings of both paintings and
scriptures. In connection with the former, many paintings have portrait
images of the donor or donors.
One may see the textual dedications and those concerned with paintings,
including portraits, as forms of self-representation, in which the official
and the private spheres of the donors are merged. While portraits and texts
of dedications in many ways reflect individual efforts and individual
concerns, they often occur in contexts where entire assemblies of donors
appear side by side, as in the donor portraits found in the caves. And even
though each donor is often identified by a cartouche carrying his or her
name as an individual marker, the manner in which the portraits are
‘enshrined’ in the setting of a given cave clearly makes the portraits, and
the good deeds they celebrate—at least on the functional level as formal
documentation—into official events in the most direct sense of the word.
While donor colophons attached to books, whether printed or
manuscripts, tend to reflect individualised concerns, they are in many
cases made by rulers or members of the local elite, thereby signaling acts
of piety which go well beyond the more narrow, personalised motives of
ordinary Buddhist believers. This is so because a member of the political
and social elite in a given locale not only made donations as an individual
but also as a leading member of a given society, namely as someone
belonging to a specific and noteworthy group at the top of the social
hierarchy. In other words, they were made from a place whence norms,
including codes of behaviour, were dispensed to the larger community in
a hegemonic manner. Therefore, as soon as such donation events become
‘public’, in the sense that they display a specific ordering system of power
and status, they tend to take on a more distinctly official character.
The present essay highlights both the conceptual and the concrete world
of the Buddhist donor in the late medieval period, based on material
derived from Dunhuang. While the main focus is on donations of books
and votive paintings, I also give a few examples from caves and their wall
paintings. I especially want to elucidate here the concerns of the various
donors, their socio-religious typologies, and the motives and beliefs
underlying their actions. All of the cases discussed here derive from the
4
period of the Guiyijun’s domination of Dunhuang, i.e. from 851 to around
1036.2
2. Motives for Making Donations
Before presenting and discussing the cases of donations and how giving is
conceptualised in the material under consideration here, it is worthwhile
to examine those issues and agendas that were the driving forces behind
the donations. The following list of motivations is compiled based on a
large number of primary sources primarily from Dunhuang, since it is my
area of expertise, although I feel confident that a similar list could also be
compiled based on donor records from elsewhere in the Buddhist world.
The manner in which it is presented is not meant to follow a particular
order, structured logic, or system of gradation:
(1) Repose and bliss of deceased parents and ancestors: Reference to
seven generations of ancestors is relatively common. It is a typical element
in the traditional Chinese ancestral cult, and therefore represents the
invasion of a non-Buddhist type of belief into a basic Buddhist practice.
(2) Healing of self and others: This concern gives itself. We encounter
this type of dedication as part of general or specific prayers for getting rid
of sicknesses.
(3) Blessings for the ruler and the territory: Wishes or prayers of this
kind are more numerous than one might think. In the material surveyed
here, it is more commonly encountered during the time of the Northern
Song (960–1126, 北宋) than in earlier periods. It would appear to reflect
two different concerns, on the one hand, a heartfelt and genuine feeling of
loyalty and support to the ruler, and on the other, something in the order
of a mandatory convention.
(4) Blessings for society at large: This type of dedication is usually
expressed as a general prayer, and is of course meant to reflect the donor’s
altruism and concern for his or her fellow human beings.
____________
2
The mechanics of the ‘circuit of giving’ in relation to medieval Chinese Buddhism is
discussed at length in Jacques Gernet’s classic study, Buddhism in Chinese Society: An
Economic History from the Fifth to the Tenth Centuries, trans. Franciscus Verellen (New
York: Columbia University Press 1995), 195–247. Many examples from Dunhuang during
the 10th century are provided.
5
(5) Blessings for self (specific religious merit): This is a fairly common
and frequently met category, often expressing a desire to alleviate evil
karma committed in the past or the hope for spiritual attainment. While
the former type seeks to avoid descending into the hells upon one’s death,
the latter expresses aspiration to ascend to a Pure Land, or to the assembly
of Maitreya. Both types extend to self and others. This category of
dedications is a general one, found in several contexts.
(6) Getting rid of suffering: It is interesting to note that many examples
of this category conceptualise problems that cause suffering as a result of
living and dead debtors, who each in their own way come to afflict the
sufferer. Debt from the past may also involve karmic debt, i.e. unfinished
or unresolved issues, such as enmity or acts of wrong-doing that come to
haunt the donor later.
(7) Being protected from harm (diseases, depredation of demons,
prosecution from officials, bandits, etc.): This is a rather general category,
in which a donor seeks protection for one’s self and one’s family from
various kinds of harm.
(8) Seeking longevity: The wish to extend one’s lifespan is a very
popular and important theme in Sinitic cultures. It is also often
encountered in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism. However, Chinese culture
does have a special focus on the attainment of long life, an almost cultic
one, and that fact does play out in much of the material discussed here.
(9) Harmony in the family: This category is a common motif, often met
with in the donor dedications. It is rarely a major motif, but commonly
appears as a secondary concern.
While the above thematic categories of donor motivations are identified
in order to provide an easy overview, in reality they often appear as parts
of the same dedication, or as differently oriented prayers. Moreover, they
may—and often do—overlap, creating a more complex and intertwined
picture. However, one can also say that donor inscriptions and dedications
usually have a leading or primary motivation, to which a number of
secondary motivations may be added.
One often finds dedications in which the resulting accumulation of
merit addresses the fear of falling into the hells, or the hope for rebirth in
a paradise, connected with the production of specific icons or the copying
of certain scriptures. On the face of it, this does not appear so surprising,
since it makes sense to direct one’s prayer to the best possible divine agent,
to ensure that it may be fulfilled. Hence it is common to find paintings
6
depicting major Buddhist heroes of salvation, such as the Bodhisattvas
Avalokiteśvara or Kṣitigarbha, or scriptures relating to their cults,
commissioned in relation to this major concern.3 Likewise, we often find
King Yama and the Ten Kings invoked when the supplicant fears an evil
rebirth that could land him or her in the hells for an extended time. Rebirth
in paradise, in a Pure Land (Chin. jingtu 淨土), naturally enough, is often
expressed in connection with images and scriptures belonging to the cult
of Amitābha/Amitayūs or Maitreya, the Future Buddha. Likewise, the
desire for healing may appear with paintings or scriptures concerned with
Bhaiṣajyaguru, the Medicine Buddha. In spite of this, one should not
expect too rigid a correspondence between image/scripture and a given
type of donor concern, as there are many instances where merit-making
per se is the overwhelming concern, no matter the donor’s specific
situation. The various types of dedications and their prayers often occur
together in the same text.
The practice of the transfer of merit (Skt. parīnāma, Chin. huixiang 迴
向)4 to others is in the Sinitic cultural sphere to which Buddhism during
the Guiyijun period in Dunhuang mainly belonged, was, therefore,
specifically targeting ancestors and recently deceased family members,
and sick relatives advanced in age, and as such tends to express concerns
for their future well-fare, especially that they avoid ending up in the
offices of torture in the Netherworld.5 Even though offerings like those
____________
3
This issue has been dealt with in Stephen F. Teiser, The Scripture on the Ten Kings
and the Making of Purgatory in Medieval Chinese Buddhism (Honolulu: University of
Hawai’i Press and Kuroda Institute, 1994). See also Françoise Wang-Toutain, Le
Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha en Chine du Ve au XIIIe Siècle (Paris: Presses de L’École française
d’Extrême-Orient, 1998).
4
The beliefs and practices which combine to make up the conceptual foundation for the
transference of merit are manifold, and although there can be little doubt that it originated
in Indian Buddhism quite early, in the context of Chinese Buddhism alone it goes quite a
way back in time. For definitions, see FDC, vol. 4, 3784a–3785a. For a scripture of
somewhat dubious origins that deals with transference of merit, see the Fo shuo shen shen
da huixiang jing 佛說甚深大迴向經 [Scripture on the Exceedingly Deep and Great
Transference of Merit] (T. 825.17). This scripture purports to be a translation from the first
half of the 5th century.
5
See Henrik H. Sørensen, “The Meeting of Daoist and Buddhist Spatial Imagination:
The Construction of the Netherworld in Medieval China,” in Locating Religions: Contact,
Diversity and Translocality, ed. Reinhold F. Glei and Nikolas Jaspert (Leiden, Boston: Brill,
2017), 234–292.
7
recorded in the dedications from Dunhuang were often made on behalf of
deceased parents and family members, it would not be correct to only see
them as reflecting mortuary concerns or as expressions of filial piety.
Hence, as far as offerings and donations go, I tend to disagree with Michel
Soymié, who sees the donations of religious paintings as primarily
concerned with the Chinese cult of the dead. 6 Certainly, many of the
dedications and cases involving transference of merit do relate to mortuary
practices, but as already indicated, concern for the souls of the dead was
only one of many motives—albeit an important one—for providing
offerings and making donations to the Buddhist institutions at Dunhuang
(and elsewhere).
It is sometimes possible to set up a distinction between lay and clerical
donors’ motivations for making offerings. Stated in very general terms,
the former tends to be more concerned with their own families and more
immediate concerns of the so-called ‘worldly’ type, while monks and nuns
in many cases are focused on ‘spiritual’ concerns. Again, this is a
distinction that may only be upheld on the basis of tendency or
densification of cases, but it is not to be taken as a general rule. As we
shall presently see, there are many dedications by Buddhist clerics that are
rather worldly in nature, and also many lay dedications that show a
heightened sense for spiritual goals. The circuit of donations in Dunhuang
during the reign of the Guiyijun took place, after all, in what can best be
described as an ideal Buddhist context, and fervent Buddhist piety would
seem to an integral part of this.
3. Donating Buddhist Icons: Paintings and Images
A majority of donations to the Buddhist communities in Dunhuang by

members of the elite take the form of religious or votive paintings. These
paintings are special in many ways, not so much for their variegated
iconography, but because most of them include generic portraits of donors
and of their deceased relatives. It is interesting to note that although the
appearance of donor-portraits in paintings—especially as part of the
production of religious art— was a phenomena that became increasingly
prominent during the later Tang (923–935, 後唐) and Five Dynasties
____________
6
See Michel Soymié, “Les donateurs dans les peintures de Dunhuang,” Cahiers
d’Extrême-Asie 11 (1999–2000): 1–24.
8
(906–978, 五代) period in China, relatively few paintings with donors
have survived outside of those found in Dunhuang.7 This makes these
paintings both invaluable and unique.
The votive paintings found in Cave 17, together with the hoard of
manuscripts, represent donors following a sort of iconographical template,
in that they usually display a fixed convention for depicting portraits.
When we say ‘portrait’ we are not talking about portraits in the usual sense
of the word, i.e. a rendering of a living or dead person resembling his or
her physical likeness. Most of the donor portraits from Dunhuang are, with
few exceptions, generic in nature, and the primary way of identifying them
is through captions with their names, and sometimes also a statement
regarding the reason for the offering. Only in a few, isolated cases do these
donor portraits approach something akin to an actual physical likeness, but
even so, they are usually idealised.8
One significant feature of the donor-portraits from Dunhuang is their
respective size. In earlier donor-portraits, the images of the donors were
usually rather small, often completely dwarfed by the main icon to which
a given painting was dedicated. Moreover, it was common to have the
portrait of the donor (or the person for whom the donation was made)
inserted into the primary composition itself, i.e. placed next to the main
icon. During the reign of the Guiyijun, in the 10th century in particular,
we see a marked tendency for donor-portraits to become relatively larger
than before, more numerous and familial, and take up much more of the
actual surface of the painting. At the same time, the donor portraits are
removed from the main iconographical composition. In effect, donor
portraits divided the picture frame into two or more separate parts. This
development signals that the act of donation takes on added importance,
and it becomes increasingly paramount for donors to signal and display
____________
7
Portrait images, often of entire families or groups of donors, are fairly common to the
Buddhist sculptural art of Sichuan (四川) during the 10th century and slightly before. For a
prime example, see the outside lintels of the Pure Land group no. 245 at Mt. Bei (Chin. Bei
shan, 北山) in Sichuan. An extensive discussion of this significant group is found in Tom
Suchan, “The Eternally Flourishing Stronghold: An Iconographic Study of the Buddhist
Sculpture of the Fowan and Related Sites at Beishan, Dazu ca. 892–1155” (PhD diss., Ohio
State University, 2003), 406–422.
8
For the portraits of the Khotanese royalty in Cave 98, see Zhongguo bihua quanji 中
國壁畫全集 [Complete Collection of Chinese Wall Paintings], Dunhuang 9: Wudai - Song
五代 - 宋 (Shenyang: Liaoning meishu chubanshe, 1990), 9, 3, pl. 6.
9
their piety in the painting. Such ‘usurpation’ of significance, in effect an
‘iconification’ of the donor role in the practice of Buddhist offerings, may
have had to do with a growing importance of religious and social status
for the donating families. It could also be because in many cases deceased
people and ancestors are included among the donors, making them partake
directly in the merit of the offering on their own behalf. One could,
therefore, easily read this practice as revealing that an extended form of
ancestral cult had become the norm. Or, perhaps, it simply happened
because of an increase in religious competition among the important, local
clans.9
Illustrative examples of donor-portraiture and donor-dedications from
Dunhuang are manifold. In the following I discuss two representative
cases. The first is MG 17664, which is an icon of Kṣitigarbha as lord of
rebirth, flanked by two figures, the Lads of Evil Karma and Good Karma,
who are lower officials of human destinies, usually associated with
judgement in the Netherworld.10 The bodhisattva’s role as saviour of those
unfortunate ones in the hells is alluded to in the secondary tableaux behind
him, which depicts rebirth in the so-called Six Destinies (Chin. liudao, 六
道) is depicted (fig. 1).
____________
9
In a recent paper I made an outline of religious paintings and donors in Dunhuang,
taking as my point of departure an Avalokiteśvara paintings with multiple donor portraits
representing several of the local clans. See Henrik H. Sørensen, “Donors and Image at
Dunhuang: A Case Study of OA 1919,0101,0.54,” BuddhistRoad Paper 4.1 (2019).
10
For a similar iconographical theme, see OA 1919,0101,0.19 in Roderick Whitfield
and Anne Farrer, Caves of the Thousand Buddhas: Chinese Art from the Silk Road (London:
British Museum Publications, 1990), 46–47, pls. 19AB.
10
Figure 1. Painting of Kṣitigarbha. Dunhuang, 10th century. MG
17664.
The donors are portrayed below the divinities, set inside a separate panel.
The captions for their names and the central panel dividing the male and
female donors—to be used for the text of the donor dedication—have been
left empty. The principal male donor is shown on the far right, evidently
a person of status. He is dressed in the typical formal frock of a Song
official and wears the butterfly cap on his head. He sits with his hands
placed in front of his chest in devotional greeting (Skt. añjali). In front of
11
him is a young Buddhist nun, possibly newly ordained, and in front of her
(?) is the image of a nun officiating over the act of worship. She holds a
tray with offerings before her. The second figure to the left on the other
side of the central cartouche is the principal female donor. She is a well-
dressed lady in her finest, with a lavish hair-ornament and heavy make-up,
as was common for women’s fashion in this remote part of Sinitic culture
during the 10th century. In front of her is another officiating nun, holding
the customary handled incense burner, and at the very back there is a
young male child (fig. 1).
Since we have no way to know who this pair of donors were, because
their names and the colophon text are absent, we may let their portraits
speak for themselves. Evidently, we are dealing with a married couple of
upper-class background, who could be either the deceased parents of the
painting’s donor, or the actual donors themselves. The fact that the
painting is dedicated to the cult of Kṣitigarbha, i.e. a divinity closely
associated with salvation from rebirth, could indicate that the first option
is more likely. The three clerical figures could be their relatives from a
clan-sponsored temple, or they may be the donors themselves, and the
married couple, their parents. In any case, we do know that they are
representations of nuns because of the rouge applied to their cheeks. 11
Again, the presence of both nuns and lay figures underscores the close
relationship that persisted between officials and other lay-Buddhist
followers on the one hand, and the members of Buddhist temples at
Dunhuang on the other. Monks and nuns often acted as mediating agents
during rituals.
The second representative case of s painting that shows the offering of
a votive painting by clerics on behalf of what I presume was their spiritual
master, a venerable nun, is a fairly non-descript painting from the Stein
Collection depicting Avalokiteśvara in the form of Water–Moon
Avalokiteśvara (Chin. Shuiyue Guanyin 水月觀音) (fig. 2).12
____________
11
It is not known whether Buddhist nuns actually wore make-up in Dunhuang under the
Guiyijun, but most likely they did not, given the injunctions in the vinaya. Therefore, we
should read this iconographic feature as a gender marker, or otherwise as an artistic
convention, rather than taking it as concrete evidence that nuns actually wore make-up.
12
OA 1919,0101,0.28.
12
Figure 2. Water–Moon Avalokiteśvara. Dunhuang, 10th
century.
OA 1919,0101,0.28, BM.
The donors appear in a single row and are set, as usual, in the bottom
section of the painting. There are six (?) donors in total, three on the left
side and three on the right. In contradistinction to many of the later
paintings with females placed on either side of the central panel bearing
the donor dedication, in this case the donors, consisting of both clerics and
lay-people, show a mix of gender.
13
Starting on the left side, the first portrait is that of the main donor, the
monk Zhigang (fl. second half of 9th c., 智剛), who sits holding the usual
long-handled incense burner. Behind him, second in the line, is a woman
dressed in a comparatively subdued manner. Behind her is a portrait of a
youthful male holding a flower. The cartouches in front of each read (fig.
3):
Offering by Zhigang.
Wholeheartedly offered by the Miaozhen.
Offering by Hezi.13
Figure 3. Detail of OA 1919,0101,0.28.
On the right side are three nuns. The first is the nun Shengming (fl. second
half of 9th/early 10th c., 勝明), holding a tray of offerings, succeeded by
another nun, shown holding a flower with both hands, and finally another
nun depicted in similar fashion. The cartouches read (fig. 4):
Offering by Sun Shengming.
Pujing, [and]
Mingxiang.14
____________
13
智剛供養
妙真一心供養
和子供養.
14
孫勝明供養
普凈
明祥.
14
Figure 4. Detail of OA 1919,0101,0.28.
The dedication itself reads (fig. 5):

The time being the third day of the 12th month of jiashen in the 3rd year
sequential renzi year of Dashun of the Tang [(i.e. 892)], the relative, the
śramāna Zhigang, the nun Shengming, and others on behalf of the deceased
nun, the vinaya and dharma ācārya, had respectfully one image of
Avalokiteśvara, Rescuer from Sufferings, painted as an eternal offering.15
____________
15
時唐大順三年歲次壬子十二月甲申朔三日, 孫沙門智剛,
尼勝明等奉為亡尼法律闍梨, 敬繪救苦觀世音菩薩一軀, 永充供養.
15
Figure 5. Fig. 5. Detail of OA 1919,0101,0.28.
The exact family relationship between the deceased nun and the donors in
the painting is not immediately clear for all of them. It would seem that
both Zhigang and Shengming were blood-relatives of the Sun (孫) clan.
Madame Zhen is stated to be a sister, so again the indication is that the
painting was a commemorative offering on behalf of a nun, who was both
a senior family member and a spiritual leader. The last may be deduced
on account of her designation as ācārya, a title usually reserved for masters
of Esoteric Buddhism only.16 I suggest that the two other nuns, Pujing (d.u.,
普凈) and Mingxiang (d.u., 明祥), are disciples of the deceased person, like
the two other clerics.
Another example of a painting with donor portraits and dedication is
that of MG 23079, which represents what appears to be a late rendering of
____________
16
See also Yao Meiling 姚美玲, “Dunhuang shu gongyang ren tiji geshi jiedu 敦煌畫
供養人題記格式解讀 [An Explanation of the Style of Writing in the Donor Inscriptions
on the Silk Paintings from Dunhuang],” in Biaoyi wenzi tixi yu Hanzixue kejian she 表意
文字體系與漢字學科建設 [Displaying the Idea of Literary Styles and the Founding of the
Department for the Study of Chinese Characters], Shijie Hanzixue hui di sijie nianhui 世界
漢字學會第四届年會 [The 4th Annual Meeting of the Association for the Study of Chinese
Characters in the World], 142–148 (Pusan, 2016 June 24–28, 2016 (Han’guk Pusan
Kyŏngsŏng Taegak - Han’guk Hanja yŏngu 韓國釜山慶星大學韓國漢字研究).
16
the Bodhisattva Amoghapāśa, yet another form of Avalokiteśvara, here
depicted in a standing form that is somewhat unusual for this divinity. This
painting also features a section in the bottom containing the donor portraits,
their personal identifying labels, and a donor dedication. As seen in other
Dunhuang paintings of this kind, deceased members of the family are
represented in the painting. There are three portraits on either side of the
central cartouche, of which the last one on the male side is an unnamed
child or youth. The condition of the painting is not very good, and some
characters are no longer legible in the text of the dedication. Beginning
with the male donors on the right side of the painting, the labels read:
Offered wholeheartedly by the deceased Compassionate Father Deng
Wenhuo
Offered wholeheartedly by the son Deng Xingquan.17
Then follows the text of the dedication:
The disciple of pure faith Deng Xingquan commissioned the painting of one
image of the Bodhisattva Amoghapāśa.18 First it is respectfully presented on
behalf of the people of the realm, that they may be at peace […],19 next on
behalf of previously deceased parents to secure that they are reborn in the
Pure Land, next that the family be harmonious and without […]20 displayed
eternally as an offering.
Recorded on a day in the fourth month in a gengxu year.21
The daughter and deceased wife
Offered wholeheartedly by the new wife of the Du clan [(杜氏)].
Offered wholeheartedly by the compassionate mother of the Zhang clan
[( 張氏)].22
____________
17
故慈父鄧文或一心 [供養]
男鄧幸全一心供養
18
Here Amoghapāśa’s name appears in phonetic transcription.
19
One character missing.
20
Two characters missing.
21
This date corresponds to either 950 or 1010. Both are possible given design and
iconography, but the latter date is perhaps more plausible. Of course, if correct, this means
that Cave 17 was not walled-up before this date.
22
清信弟子鄧幸全敬造
伯空卷索菩薩壹軀
先奉為國人安□一為
過往父母秉生淨士二為
合家無□□彰永充
供養庚戌年四月日記
17
The portraits of the deceased parents are placed at the front of both groups,
next to the text of the dedication, in accordance with the Chinese system
of ancestral family ranking. Their identifying labels are, moreover, painted
in a different colour than those of the other members of the family. The
prayers voiced in connection with the transfer of merit are rather straight
forward, peace on earth, rebirth in the Pure Land, and harmony in the
family. The dedication does not mention why Amoghapāśa was singled
out for depiction in the commissioned painting, so it is not clear whether
it was a random motif or whether it reflects a special cultic association
with the Deng family.
4. Donating Buddhist Scriptures
There are not substantial differences between donor dedication motifs

found in colophons appended to Buddhist scriptures and those found in
paintings. However, given that commissioning one or more copies of
religious books was a relatively inexpensive enterprise, and therefore
within the province of most Buddhist devotees and pilgrims coming to
Dunhuang, the textual donor colophons reflect a wider and more common
practice than the practice of ordering paintings for donations. In contrast,
only the Guiyijun rulers and the wealthy clans could afford to have entire
sets of Buddhist scriptures copied or, as became increasingly popular as
the 10th century wore on, printed.
I have selected a number of examples of donor dedications we find
appended as colophons to Buddhist scriptures in order to give a
representative overview of the practice of having books copied for
donation or offering. Let us begin with a case of a scriptural donation by
a member of Dunhuang’s elite, namely that made by Cao Yansheng (fl.
second half of 10th c., 曹延晟),23 one of the four sons of the Guiyijun ruler
____________
女住娘
新婦杜氏一心供養
慈母張氏一心供養
23
Very little is known about his life and activities except that he was a devout Buddhist,
as were his father and brothers. He was transferred to Guazhou (瓜州) in or around 980.
See Song huiyao jigao: Cao xing ziliao huibian 宋會要輯稿: 曹姓资料汇编 [Collation of
Materials Relating to those with Cao Family Names in the Song huiyao jigao], ed. Cao
Ziqiang 曹自强 , accessed September 13, 2018.
http://www.caoguo.org/xiazai/download/cxzlhb.pdf.
18
Cao Yuanzhong (r. 944–974, 曹元忠), who commissioned the copying of
the Mahāprajñāpāramitāsūtra (T. 220.5), which he then donated to the
local Xiande Temple (顯德寺) (Beijing 1429).24 We might suppose that
the library of this temple—one of the major Buddhist temples in
Dunhuang—was in need of its own copy of this central Buddhist sūtra.25
Yansheng’s donor colophon is a relatively lengthy one, which underscores
the importance of the scriptural offering. It is couched in the typical
literary hyperbole characteristic of self-congratulatory donation projects
of this type. It reads:
The disciple of pure faith, Controlling Messenger of the Army of the
Guiyijun Government, Acting Censor and Left Retainer to the Imperial
Emissary, the Great Person Cao Yansheng, took out a part of his small
wealth, in order to have one set of the Mahāprajñāpāramitāsūtra copied
[together with] brocade wrappers, which he bestowed upon the Xiande
Temple. It was respectfully [offered] on behalf of the Martial Country [(Chin.
jun guo 軍國), 26 that it may be eternally at peace, that the ancestral karma
[(Chin. zuye 祖業)] be prosperous; that the roads of the world may be clean
and level, that the people may be tranquil and happy. that the Great King
may enjoy long life, that precious ranks may be secure [like] hills and
mountains, that favourable treatment may daily be renewed, and that
blessings may surpass rivers and oceans. [Moreover, he wishes that] his wife
of immortal complexion and rich appearance will eternally drive up to the
Mushroom Palace in her ornamented carriage [(Chin. yuxuan 魚軒)], and
that her beautiful appearance may remain for a long time in the phoenix
mirror [(Chin. luanjing 鸞鏡 )] and continue to illumine the Phoenix
____________
http://www.caoguo.org/xiazai/download/cxzlhb.pdf. A brief biographical note can also be
found in Dunhuang suijin, 86.
24
The colophon is found added to rolls 274–275 of the Mahāprajñāpāramitāsūtra. For
the text of the dedication, see also Dunhuang yuanwen ji, 933–934.
25
The importance of the Mahāprajñāpāramitāsūtra in Chinese Buddhist history is
undisputed, and the same would appear to hold true for Dunhuang throughout the Guiyijun
rule, as documented in the extensive number of copies we find of this scripture among the
manuscripts. For a study of this, see Zheng Binglin 鄭炳林, “Wan Tang Wudai Dunhuang
diqu Dabanruo jing xinyang yu difang zhengquan de guanxi 晚唐五代敦煌地區大般若
經信仰與地方政權的關係 [On the Relationship between Faith in the
Mahāprajñpāramitāsūtra and Local Government in Dunhuang during the Late Tang and
Five Dynasties Period],” Pumen xuebao 普門學報 [Pumen Journal] 34 (2006): 1–19 (cf.
esp. 14).
26
This is undoubtedly a reference to the newly established Song Dynasty, which at that
time was still in the process of unifying China.
19
Pavillion. 27 Bowing down, he has reflected how he, as a youth [(Chin.
housheng 後生)] was brave and fierce, giving free rein to his thoughts and
unrestrained feelings without realising that he was extensively creating
karmic obstacles for himself. [This included] hunting sentient beings with
great arrows and the longbow, such as the flying goose, thereby causing
injury to the lifespan of others. He only vows to undertake this copying of
[Buddhist] books as meritorious virtue, respectfully bestowing it as cause
and effect, so that [earlier] transgressions may be eliminated and blessings
be born, and that he may be without all calamities. Furthermore, that those
previously deceased and distant generations, will be acquainted with and
entrust themselves to the Western Direction, [so that they may] journey to
the halls of the Pure Land, and testify to the fruit of the unborn [(Chin.
wusheng zhi guo 無生之果).] This was written on the 1st day of the 5th
month in the fourth pingyin year of Qiande [(966)]. 28
Despite the self-depreciating tone at the beginning of the text regarding
the donor’s economic status, this is obviously a classical example of
Chinese pseudo-humility in literary form. In fact, copying the
Mahāprajñāpāramitāsūtra, even if Cao Yansheng’s offering was not of
the entire set, would have been no mean accomplishment in economic
terms. Surely such a project would have been a costly affair to be borne
by a single person, even at the standards of that time. Although the
inscription commemorates the scriptural offering of a pious lay Buddhist,
martial metaphors abounds, underscoring the role and identify of the
donor as an important man of the local military establishment.
The statement on the transference of merit is somewhat formulaic and
impersonal, as if the listed concerns in the prayer are mandatory items
rather than expressions of real wishes. In other words, they convey a kind
of official air, something which undoubtedly reflects on the elevated status
of the donor. Only further in the colophon do we see the more personal
____________
27
These are poetic references to the elegance of the royal palace in Dunhuang. The
allusions to phoenix and longevity mushrooms are literary tropes to denote the lofty and
hallowed halls there.
28
Beijing 1429, Mahāprajñāpāramitāsūtra:
清信弟子歸義軍節度監軍使檢校尚書左僕射兼御史大夫曹延盛, 剖割小財,
寫大般若經一帙並錦帙子, 施入顯德寺者. 奉為軍國永泰, 祖業興隆; 世路清平,
人民安樂. 大王遐壽, 寶位堅於丘山; 寵蔭日新, 福祚過於江海. 夫人仙顏轉茂,
魚軒永駕於芝宮;美貌長滋, 鸞鏡恒輝於鳳閣. 伏惟己躬, 後生雄猛;縱意恣情,
不覺不知, 廣造業障:或飛鷹走犬, 拽捉眾生;或大箭長弓, 傷他性命.
惟願承斯書寫功德, 奉施因緣, 罪滅福生, 無諸憂惱. 然後先亡遠代, 識托西方,
遨遊淨土之宮, 速證無生之果. 於時乾德四年丙寅歲五月一日寫記.
20
intentions of Cao Yansheng play out, as when he, in typical literati-style,
admonishes the reader of the importance of practicing Buddhism in order
to avoid evil karma. Indeed, it would appear that in the course of his life
he had come to entertain regret concerning certain former deeds, including
hunting (and possible warfare, as well), for which he sought atonement
with the above offering. Hence, and despite the somewhat formulaic tone
of the dedication, there can be no doubt that Cao Yansheng was a devout
Buddhist. In fact, he had previously demonstrated his support of
Dunhuang’s Buddhists when he commissioned a 949 printing of the
Vajracheddikāsūtra, meant for distribution among the faithful.29
Another case is a lengthy donor dedication recording a more extensive
scriptural offering by a member of the Cao clan, a young girl, who is
suffering from an illness. Evidently, the text of the dedication reflects her
state of mind at the time of the donation. The colophon appears appended
to an abbreviated version of the Mārīcīdevīdhāraṇīsūtra (P. 2805). The
colophon reads:
On the 13th day of the 10th month of the 6th xinchou year of the Tianfu
[reign-period, i.e. 941], the female disciple of pure faith, the young woman
of the Cao family, commissioned the copying of the Hṛdāyaprajñā-
pāramitāsūtra [(T. 251.8)] in one roll, the Xuming jing [續命經 [Scripture
on the Extension of the Span of Life] (T. 2889.85)] in one roll, the Yanshou
ming jing [延壽命經 [Scripture on Longevity and the Span of Life] (T.
2888.85)] in one roll, and the Mārīcīdevīsūtra [(T. 1256.21, P. 2805, P. 3136,
P. 3824, etc.)]30 in one roll, respectfully offered on behalf of herself, as she
suffers from difficulties. Today she presents a number of scriptures, since
the medicine dumplings [(Chin. yao’er 藥餌)]31 that were bestowed again
____________
29
This case is discussed in Henrik H. Sørensen, “Donations and the Production of
Buddhist Scriptures in Dunhuang during the 10th Century,” Hualin International Journal
of Buddhist Studies 3 (forthcoming 2020). See also Fang Guangchang 方廣锠, “Dunhuang
wenxian de zhong Jingang jing ji qi zhushu 敦煌文獻的中金剛經及其注疏 [The
Vajracheddikāsūtra as Found Among the Dunhuang Writings and Its Circulation],”
accessed Juli 25, 2018. http://big5.xuefo.net/nr/article31/311984.html.
30
Most of the copies of this scripture found among the Dunhuang hoard of manuscripts
are short, abbreviated versions deriving from the translation by Amoghavajra (705–774,
Chin. Bukong 不空) (T. 1255.21).
31
These medicinal buns are documented in the Chinese primary sources from the early
Tang onwards. One earliest Buddhist cases of their use are found in Sengchou’s (480–560,
僧稠) biography in the Xu gaoseng chuan 續高僧傳 [Continuation of the Histories of
Famous Monks] (T. 2060.50, 553a–c), and in Bodhiruci’s monumental version of the
Amoghapāśakalparāja (T. 1092.20, 324a). They are also found in the celebrated materia
21
and again in the morning still have not made her well, and she now lies sick
[in bed]. Beginning to realise her former misdeeds, she humbly begs the
Great Holy Ones to relieve her hardships and lift her out of danger, and that
the mirror [(Chin. jian 鑒 )] 32 will reflect the virtue of the copying of
scriptures. She [therefore] hopes to be protected, that this troublesome
danger will be eliminated, deceased family debtors [(Chin. zhaizhu
債主)] 33 will receive their capital [when] the merit is divided, and that they
will [subsequently] go for rebirth in the Western [Pure Land]. With a mind
full of prayer, she eternally supplies these [scriptures] as eternal offerings
[…].34
Form this text of dedication we learn that the primary motif of the donor
is to recover from her sickness, and that since the medicinal dumplings
have failed to effect a cure, she has resorted to the donation of holy
scriptures. Here it is significant to see how she prays the enemies of her
family will be appeased by the offering and that they will attain rebirth in
the Pure Land of Sukhāvatī. She also wishes her deceased parents will be
at ease. It is noteworthy that family issues play such a dominant role in
this dedication, something which surely reflects a deep-seated adherence
to traditional Chinese cultural and ethical values.35
Given these two scriptural offerings by members of Dunhuang’s elite, let
us continue with a number of other representative cases of donations of
holy texts made by clerics and lay persons. Among the interesting and
instructive donor dedications found in connection with copying Buddhist
____________
mater, Qian jin yifang 千金醫方 [Medical Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold Pieces]
from 682. For an easy-to-access-version of the Medical Prescriptions Worth a Thousand
Gold Pieces, 417, 459, etc., accessed April 3, 2018. http://seirouoosone.web.fc2.com
/SennkinnYokuhouHanntai.pdf.
32
This undoubtedly refers to the Mirror of karma in the Netherworld, in which King
Yama can see the karmic deeds of those coming before him. For more on this, see Henrik
H. Sørensen, “The Meeting of Daoist and Buddhist Spatial Imagination,” 234–292.
33
I read this to refer to so-called unresolved karmic debts from the past.
34
P. 2805: 天福六年 [(941)] 辛丑歲
十月十三日清信女弟子小娘子曹氏敬寫般若心經一卷, 續命經一卷, 延壽命經一卷,
摩利支天經一卷, 奉為己躬患難, 今經數晨, 藥餌頻施不蒙抽; 今遭卧疾, 始悟前非,
伏乞大聖濟難拔危, 鑒照寫經功德, 望仗危難消除, 死家債主領資福分, 往生西方,
滿其心願,[…].
35
Even though it is well-established that traditional Indian Buddhism also promoted
filial piety, including the respect for elders, its manner of conceptualisation and role in
Buddhist practice is of quite another order. Here, and in the related material from Dunhuang,
it is quite clear that Sinitic norms were the most common modus (it would be strang e
otherwise, as the population of Dunhuang during the medieval period, such as that
addressed here, was dominated by Chinese).
22
scriptures at Dunhuang, is one appended to manuscript S. 4378.36 The
manuscript itself features two of the central Esoteric Buddhist spells in
China, the Dabei xin tuoluoni 大悲心陀羅尼 [Heart Spell of the Great
Compassion] (T. 1064.20) 37 and the Foding zunsheng jiaju lingyan
tuoluoni 佛頂尊勝加句靈驗陀羅尼 [Bodoṣṇīṣa-Augmenting Phrases of
the Spell of Numinous Response] (T. 974C.19). 38 The two spells are
accompanied by lengthy liturgical texts, and as such highlight the great
importance locally ascribed to both the Nīlakaṇṭhaka and the
Uṣṇīṣavijāyasūtra. The text of the colophon reads:
[…] The merit [(Chin. gongde 功德)] of upholding [these spells]
I revert to all that have sentience,
so that I and all sentient beings,
may attain to the Buddha’s Way.
The monk Huilan [(d.u., 惠鑾)], in response to an order, has respectfully
undertaken to issue forth these writings, and although there are many clumsy
mistakes, [he hopes] that they nevertheless will aid sentient beings in the
future. He respectfully offers them up, humbly asking that they be received
and upheld, so that all may share in the exceptional benefits.
The time being the 8th day of the 12th month in the jiwei [(己未)] year
[(899 or 959?)]. The Heart Spell of the Great Compassion and the
Uṣṇīṣavijāyadhāraṇī were copied together in one roll in the scripture
repository of the Dabei Temple in the Jiangling prefecture39.40
____________
36
Lengthy description in Giles, 130b (4444).
37
This is the primary spell of the Nīlakaṇṭhakadhāraṇīsūtra as translated by
Amoghavajra (T. 1064.20).
38
Written by the Imperial Commissioner Wu Che (d. before 763, 武徹) during the Tang.
A record of the spiritual results from practicing with the Sarvadurgatipariśodhana-
uṣṇīṣavijāyadhāraṇīsūtra. For additional data on this person, see Taiping guangji 太平廣
記 [Extensive Records from the Taiping Reign Period], ch. 150.
39
In modern Hubei province.
40
S. 4378V° (1): […] 持課諸功德普及諸有情我等與眾生皆共成佛道比丘惠
鑾者今奉命書出, 多有拙惡, 且副來情, 謹專奉上. 伏乞受持同沾殊利. 時己未歲
十二月八日在江陵府大悲寺經藏內寫大悲心陀羅尼, 尊勝陀羅尼同一卷了.
This is a de facto verse for transferring merit and as such is found attached, more or less
verbatim, to ritual texts relating to the cult of the Thousand-armed Avalokiteśvara,
including the Dabei qiqing 大悲啓請 [Inviting the Great Compassion], which was in
common use in Dunhuang during the 9–10th centuries. Cf. E.g. T. 2843.85, 1296b. See also
Zhang Zong 張總, “Dunhuang xieben Qianshou jing yu Dabei qiqing 敦煌寫本千手經與
大悲啟請 [The Dunhuang Manuscripts [Featuring] the Nīlakaṇṭhakasūtra and the Inviting
23
This donor colophon clearly shows that the motive behind having the two
spell texts copied was a singularly religious one, namely the wish that the
person himself, together with all sentient beings, will attain Buddhahood.
Its religious nature is further underscored by the admonition to show the
proper decorum when using the spells in question. An identical colophon
appended to another copy of the Uṣṇīṣavijāyadhāraṇī, but with a different
date, is found in S. 2566.41 It states that it was written on “the 17th day of
the 1st month in the jiwei [(己未)] year,” which refers to either 918 or 978.
Moreover, it informs us that it was “copied in the inner Guanyin Cloister
[(Chin. Guanyin yuan 觀音院)] of the Sanjie Temple [(三界寺)] 42 in
Shazhou.”43 This indicates that the text in question functioned as a sort of
template or form for liturgical texts of this kind.
As we see above, there is a tendency in the sources for clerics to have more
altruistic motives recorded in connection with their donations. Although
this was generally the case, we also find many records of prayers that
reflect motivations behind the donation that are not any different from
those of the common lay people.
Clerics making donations on behalf of the Buddhist community are also
found. One such case relates to a nameless monk or nun, who made a
donation of a booklet featuring the Vajracheddikā and the Foshuo yan luo
wang shouji he si zhong ni xiu sheng qi zhai gongde wang sheng jingtu
jing 佛說閻羅王受記合匹衆逆脩生七齋功德往生凈土經 [Scripture
Spoken by the Buddha on King Yama Receiving the Records on Joining
the Documents of the Multitude of Refractions and Regulating the Living
Through the Meritorious [Performance] of the Seven Zhai, whereby One
May Go for Rebirth in the Pure Land] (ZZ 21.1); the Shiwang jing 十王
經 [Scripture on the Ten Kings] is a variant title.44 The booklet contains
two dedications, one after each scripture (S. 5450). The first reads:
____________
the Great Compassion],” Dunhuang xue jikan 敦煌学輯刊 [Journal of Dunhuang Studies]
4 (2015): 22–30.
41
A description of this manuscript is found in Giles, 202b (6436).
42
This is one of the few rare instances where details about the Sanjie Temple are given
in the primary sources. The Guanyin Cloister is where the important local monk Daozhen
resided during the mid-10th century. Cf. P. 2641.
43
S. 2566: 時戊寅歲一月十七日, 在沙洲三界寺內觀[音]院寫.
44
See Teiser, The Scripture on the Ten Kings, 24–27; and Wang-Toutain, Le
Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha en Chine du Ve au XIIIe Siècle, 214–229.
24
Copied so that all enemies and debtors, and impurities that stain this
monastery [(Chin. jialan 伽藍)],45 as well as all the heavy sins [of karma],
will surely be done away with.46
Here we see how concern over misfortune that either has occurred or that
may befall the unnamed Buddhist institution in question, is the primary
reason behind offering the books. The ‘enemies and debtors’ refers to
people with whom one has karmic bonds in the past, and who, because of
unresolved affairs, may come back to haunt one in some form. Such
grievances ‘from beyond the grave’ is a common trope in Chinese cultural
practice, and were a constant source of anxiety and fear among people at
large. This is reiterated in the second dedication, which reads: “[May] all
enemies and debtors [of the past] receive this merit.”47 In other words, by
sharing part of one’s merit with the dead, a person was believed to be able
to obliterate karmic debt from the past.
A copy of the Guanyin jing 觀音經 [Avalokiteśvara Scripture]48 done
at the scriptorium of the Liantai Temple (蓮臺寺) features a colophon in
which it is stated that it was copied on behalf of the visiting Saṁgha
Overseer Haisheng (d.u., 張海晟) of the Zhang clan by a resident monk
named Lingjin (d.u., 靈進) in 912 (Beijing 海 61).
On the 27th day of the 3rd month in the renshen year [(i.e. 912)], the traveller,
with a disposition overflowing with compassion, respectfully
[commissioned] the copying of the Scripture of the Great and Holy
Avalokiteśvara in one roll. Firstly, on behalf of the deceased royal parents.
Secondly, for the entire family, that it may eternally be graced by piety, good
luck, and prosperity, I pray that the numinous spirits of the dead attain rebirth
in the Pure Land, that all sentient beings [(Chin. cang [zhong?] sheng 蒼[眾?]
生)] in the dharma realm, as well will be benefitted by [the merit of] this
____________
45
This could also be read as ‘hermitage’ or a small temple. This use of jialan in the
Dunhuang material is usually a generic term, simply indicating a Buddhist establishment.
For a more evolved discussion, see Henrik H, Sørensen, “The Buddhist Temples in
Dunhuang: Mid 9th to Early 11th Centuries,” BuddhistRoad Paper 5.2 (2020 forthcoming).
46
ZZ 21.1: 寫一切怨家債主所有汚泥伽藍一切重罪悉得銷.
47
The ‘debtors’ mentioned in the text refer to people with whom one or one’s family
has unresolved karmic issues. This could be concrete economic issues, such as an unpaid
loan, or people, dead or alive, who for whatever reason bear grudges.
48
This rather imprecise designation may cover different scriptures and could potentially
refer to the Pumen Chapter (普門品) of the Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra [Lotus sūtra] or to
an apocryphal scripture, such as the Gaowang Guanyin jing 高王觀音經 [Exhalted King
Avalokiteśvara Scripture] (T. 2897.85).
25
blessing. The devoted disciple Zhang Haisheng whole-heartedly makes this
offering.
The monk [in charge of] matters of faith at Liantai [Temple], the
śramāṇera Lingjin, has written down this record of copying.49
In his dedication of merit, Haisheng reveals that he was actually a son of
Zhang Yichao (r. 851–867, 張議潮), the founder of the Guiyijun regime.
His dedication should, therefore, be seen in the context of his close affinity
with the ruling family, which was in severe decline at the time of his
writing.
There are also a number of dedications found in connection with
Buddhist scriptures that do not carry any specific prayers or otherwise
express a desire to have the merit of the good work extended to others.
One such example is a small booklet containing three Buddhist scriptures,
the Vajracheddikā, the Mārīcīdevīsūtra (already encountered once above),
and the apocryphal Foshuo zhaifa qingjing jing 佛說齋法清淨經
[Scripture on the Fasting Methods of Purity] (T. 2900.85) commissioned
by the cleric He Jiangtong (fl. second half of 10th c., 何江通) of the He
clan (何氏) (S. 5646). Here the colophon simply states:
The time being the 15th day in the 4th month of the 7th jixu year of the
Qiande reign period [really the 2nd of Kaibao] in the Great Song Dynasty
[(969)], the Mahāyāna adept, who studies the Chan records [(Chin. chanlu
禪錄)],50 He Jiangtong, has reverently copied out three books of sūtras, long
and short, nine rolls [of paper] in all.51 Having recited them throughout the
night, he whole-heartedly presents them as an offering. Hence this record.52
This short colophon is an example of a dedication that does not specify or
otherwise refer to the concept of merit. Therefore, it appears to be a case
of a ‘pure offering’ in which no sign of religious barter is present. The
____________
49
Beijing 海 61: 壬申年三月廿七日, 行者傾心慈悲, 敬寫大聖觀音經一卷. 一,
為先王父母, 二, 為合家, 永聖吉昌, 願亡靈神生淨土, 法界蒼[眾?] 生同霑此福
清信弟子張海晟, 一心供養. 信事僧蓮台, 沙彌靈進書寫記.
50
It is also possible to translate this part as ‘recorder of Chan’ or ‘recorder of dhyāna’,
but I find such renderings less plausible in light of what we now know about the presence
of Chan Buddhism and its related writings in Dunhuang during the 10th century.
51
This seems to refer to the format in which the copies were made. Note that S. 5646,
at least in the form we have it today, is a bound booklet measuring 14 × 11 cm.
52
S. 5646: 于時大宋乾德七年己巳歲四月十五日,
大乘賢者兼當學禪錄何江通發心敬為大小經三筑子計九卷. 盡夜念誦一心供養.
故記之耳.
See also the version provided in Giles, 31a.
26
intense piety implicit in this offering is underscored by the mention of the
condition under which the booklet was donated, namely, that Jiangtong
spent all night reciting the three scriptures it contains. As such this brief
yet elucidating piece of evidence shows the fervour and intense devotion
that in some cases went into the production of such scriptures meant for
donation.
Another example of a donation of the Vajracheddikā, which was also
made without any prayers in mind, is found in yet another booklet similar
to the two ones discussed above (S. 5669). In this case the pious Buddhist
intent behind the donation is spelled out as follows:
On the 3rd day of the 2nd month in the 3rd pingyin year of Tianyu [(i.e.
906)], an eighty-three [year old] person pricked the middle finger of his left
hand to draw blood, which he mixed with fragrant ink, in order to copy out
this Vajrasūtra,53 so as to transmit it to persons of faith. All who are without
[personal] wishes since their fundamental nature [(Chin. benxing 本性)] is
truly vacuous, and have no desire for blessings. 54
This is a singular example of a private donation, in which the copied text
was not commissioned by the donor, but instead created by himself.
Moreover, as an added caveat, he partly wrote the text with his own blood.
As such this is a fine example of the practice of copying holy scriptures
using one’s own blood (Chin. xieshu 寫書), which is meant to underscore
the serious nature of one’s donation and the depth of faith behind the
enterprise.55 One may, of course, argue that although the donor foregoes
the opportunity to ask for boons from the unseen powers, he nevertheless
could not help mentioning that he does so. In other words, there is an
implicit need for self-promotion behind the act. In contrast, a truly selfless
act would leave no record.
____________
53
I.e. the Vajracheddikā.
54
S. 5669: 天祐三年丙寅, 二月, 三日八十三, 老人刺左手中指出血,
以香墨寫此金經流傅信心人, 一無所願本性實空, 無有願樂.
55
Although reference to this practice can be found in other primary sources, it would
appear that the Fanwang jing 梵網經 [Brahmajāla Scripture] was a major inspiration
behind the spread of this practice in China during the Tang and after (T. 1484.24, 1009a).
A number of cases from China’s medieval period are discussed in James A. Benn, Burning
for the Buddha: Self-Immolation in Chinese Buddhism (Honolulu: University of Hawai’i
Press, 2007), 123, 139, 218, 228, etc. See also John Kieschnick, The Eminent Monk:
Buddhist Ideals in Chinese Medieval Hagiography (Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press,
1997), 40–41 and 49–50. For additional information, see FDC, vol. 3, 2551a.
27
5. Other Forms of Donation and Patronage
Not all donations carried specific requests, such as transference of merit

or prayers for the well-being of self and others, but are in certain cases
only given a terse record stating that the event has taken place. One such
case involves Cao Zongshou (d. 1014, 曹宗壽), one of the last Guiyijun
rulers, and his wife. The record dates from the 5th year of the Xianping
(咸平) reign (1002) of the Northern Song (Dx 32A), the Song reign era as
it was in use in Dunhuang as well. It reads:
The primary donor, the ruler of Dunhuang Cao Zongshou, aided by his wife
from the Fan clan [(氾氏)] in the Northern District [of Shazhou], together
give rise to a mind of faith, order the artisans of the households of weavers
to make book wrappers and increase [the production of] manuscript rollers,
and had them entered into the scripture depository of the Bao’en Temple
[(Chin. Bao’en si 報恩寺)].56
This short piece shows that it was customary for the rulers of the
Dunhuang region to commission and donate materials to maintain the
libraries in the local temples. Even though—as in this example—it could
take the form of harnessing the local population for corvée. In other words,
a donation by the rulers could mean an extra burden for the local
population. This example shows that donations to Buddhist temples were
not always accompanied by specific prayers or spiritual requests.
Moreover, it also shows that by 1002 the Bao’en Temple was still
functioning, which means that the Sanjie Temple was surely not the only
active Buddhist institution in Dunhuang at this time.
Undoubtedly, one of the most comprehensive and fascinating cases of a
commemorative text found in connection with donations to the Buddhist
communities in Dunhuang is the colophon accompanying S. 86 (fig. 7). It
records the events surrounding the death of a woman belonging to the Ma
clan ( 馬氏 ), including different aspects of the customary memorial
services held in connection with a person’s death, such as recitations of
Buddhist scriptures and the transference of merit.
____________
56
Dx 32A: 施主燉煌王朝宗壽与滲 (濟) 北郡夫人氾氏, 同發信心, 命當府匠人編戶
造帙子及添寫卷軸, 入報恩寺經藏訖.
28
Figure 7. Colophone of S. 86. Dunhuang, 10th century. S. 86, BM.
The text reads:

Respectfully numerous meritorious practices were cultivated on behalf of
the deceased daughter, the Buddhist disciple of the Ma clan by the name
Chounü [(d. 991, 馬醜女)], from the time she fell ill until the end, for seven
days. On the 9th day of the 3rd month, the sickness became worse, and when
her end drew near, a large measure of wheat was offered in the halls of the
Jinguangming Temple. The Ma family, west of the prefectural seat, and the
Sun family [both] donated one bolt of cloth to each of the two sanctuaries
[(Chin. lanruo 蘭若)] [there].57 On the day of cremation, the corpse was
burnt in the cemetery [(Chin. linkuang 臨壙)]. Both places got in total one
green jade armband [(?)], two purple damask shirts, two plain silk shirts, one
silk collar, one pair of green shoes, one piece of silken hand cloth, one piece
of cotton hand cloth, three bushels of unhusked millet, and one bolt of cotton
____________
57
One of these is evidently the Jinguangming Temple, and the other is perhaps the Sanjie
Temple. Both were, in any case, located at the Mogao Caves, which is west of the county
seat, as stated in the text.
29
cloth. When arranging for the first of the seven assemblies,58 a total of two
hundred and thirty participating monks [were invited for] the banquet. [To
each] was offered three bolts of cloth for undergarments and two bolts of
fine woolen cloth. Moreover, a piece of striped woolen cloth, barley,
unhusked millet, and paper for books [(covers?)]. In a total ten bushels [of
grain?]. The Saddharmapuṇḍarīka was recited [(lit. ‘turned,’ Chin. juanjing
轉經 )] ten times, the Scripture on the Visualisation of the Bodhisattva
Maitreya in Tuṣita Heaven [Chin. Guan Mile pusa shangsheng doushuai
tian jing 觀彌勒菩薩上生兜率天經] eighty times, the Vajracheddikā two
times, the grave and light precepts forty-eight times, the
Uṣṇīṣavijāyadhāraṇī six hundred times, the Prajñāpāramitāsūtra one
hundred times,59 and the Mantra of Great Compassion [Chin. Cishi zhenyan
慈氏真言, i.e. the dhāraṇī of the Thousand-armed Avalokiteśvara] three
thousand times. The virtues of the displayed offerings and the recitations
today mark the end of the cultivation of the seven [assemblies]. Afterwards,
respects were made on behalf of the deceased Third Woman with assisting
merit, so that they may escape […] [descend into?]60 the Netherworld, and
quickly obtain rebirth in the inner sanctum of Tuṣita [Heaven], where they
will be able to listen to the wondrous teaching and not regress in their faith.
[Hence] one must respect the fine light of the rites, which eliminates and
does away with the [karmic] screens of wrong-doing, and widely extends to
all with vital spirits in the dharma realm, so that they together may share and
be soaked in the victorious cause [occasioned by the performance of the rite].
This celebration marks the commencement of merit for arriving at the fruits
of bliss. Beware of laxity!
The time being the 28th day of the 4th month in the 2nd xinmao year of
the chunhua reign [(991)], when the transference of the offerings was
made.61
____________
58
This refers to the seven-seven rite (Chin. qiqi zhai 七七齋), one held on each of the
seven days following the death of a person, until the passing of forty-nine days. See FDC,
vol. 3, 2885c–2886c.
59
This undoubtedly refers to the Hṛdāyaprajñāpāramitāsūtra (T. 251.8).
60
One character illegible.
61
S. 86: 奉為亡女弟子馬氏名醜女, 奉為亡女弟子馬氏名醜女, 從病至終,
七日所修功德數. 三月九日病困臨垂, 於金光明寺殿上施麥壹碩, 城西馬家
索家二蘭若, 共施布壹疋. 葬日臨壙焚屍, 兩處共綠鐲織 (?) 壹薯, 紫綾子衫子,
白絹衫子共兩事, 絹領巾壹事, 綠鞋壹兩, 絹手巾壹個, 布手巾壹個, 粟參碩, 布壹疋.
設供一七會, 共齋僧貳佰參拾人. 施襯布參疋, 昌褐兩疋, 又斜褐壹段, 麥粟紙帖,
共計壹拾碩.轉妙法華經十部, 觀彌勒菩薩上生兜率天經八十部,
金剛般若波羅密經兩部, 重四十八輕戒一卷, 佛頂尊勝陀羅尼六百遍,
般若波羅密多經一百部, 慈氏真言三千遍, 設供轉念功德. 今日右件所修, 終七已後,
並將奉為亡過三娘子資福, 超□幽冥, 速得往生兜率內院, 得聞妙法. 不退信心.
30
This text is significant for providing a complete, or near complete, list of
the goods offered by the Ma and Sun clans to the Buddhist communities
of two local temples on the occasion of the death of a common relative,
likely a Sun woman married into the Ma clan (or vice-versa). The fact that
the offered goods included silk, cotton, wool, and other textiles, and that
the amount of food stuffs were lavish, shows that the expenditure for
holding such a seven-seven rite was both costly and elaborate. The invited
monks and nuns recited a number of holy scriptures and chanted spells at
these events as part of the garnering of merit to be transferred to the
deceased. Although the event described in the document above represents
a religious undertaking of families belonging to the upper strata of
Dunhuang society, I expect that such rites were commonly performed by
all, of course on different levels of the social scale and at different costs.
Again, this case underscores the importance of donations in relation to
funerary practices and the belief in the act of transferring the merit to the
welfare of the dead. The case is also noteworthy for including injunctions
against being lax in faith and careless in performing one’s duty to the
deceased. Finally, the document indicates that in this particular case,
cremation was practiced, possibly before burial of the remains. It is
unclear whether this was done because the deceased person was a devout
Buddhist or simply because it was considered more practical.
6. Cross-Cultural Collaboration in the Repair of Cave 444
The last aspect of donation at Dunhuang of interest here, concerns

extended giving in connection with the opening of new caves for worship
and the repair of old caves. While repair of the Mogao Caves was likely
an ongoing process since the excavation of the first caves during the
Northern and Southern Dynasties (386–589, 南北朝), it is really the
period of the Guiyijun reign which marks the zenith of both the creation
of new caves and repair of pre-existing ones. That development hinges on
a number of factors, including a more politically stable situation, an
increase in wealth on a general level, expansion of trade, and Buddhist
monastic communities that grew exponentially. As with the other
____________
瞻禮毫光, 消除罪障. 普及法界, 一切含靈, 同共霑於勝因, 齊登福至樂果, 謹疏.
淳化二年辛卯歲, 四月, 廿八日, 迴施疏.
31
examples discussed above in relation to donations of paintings and holy
books, it is not the point here to make anything near a comprehensive
record of the caves constructed and repaired during the Guiyijun, but
simply to highlight a few of the more illustrative cases to underline what
took place.
One important aspect of the excavation and repair of caves at Dunhuang
and elsewhere in the region, such as at Yulin (榆林), which in many ways
sets the situation apart from other places of Buddhist activity on the Silk
Road, is that these pious works served as a focal point for intercultural and
international collaboration between different peoples in Eastern Central
Asia. While this fact has already been repeatedly noted in the past, few
scholars have actually made an investigation of this rather significant
factor the subject of extended study.62
There were enumerable redecorations and repairs carried out during the
history of the Mogao Caves, especially during periods of prosperity. But
for the purpose of this study, I selected only one example, namely that of
Cave 444, not because it holds special significance or because its icons are
especially beautiful, but because it serves as a good example of local elite
patronage of Buddhist sanctuaries, collaboration across cultural
boundaries in their repair and maintenance, and indicates who the artisans
who made the repair were.
On the 1st year of the Taipingguo reign, the then Guiyijun ruler Cao
Yangong (r. 974–976, 曹延恭) engaged in the repair of Cave 444 as a
collaborative effort together with two visiting Khotanese princes (DMGT:
168). The cave itself was originally established during the mid-Tang.
Inside there are clay statues and wall paintings, including one of
Avalokiteśvara illustrating the Pumen Chapter. On the left and right walls
are the Buddhas Prabhūtaratna and Śākyamuni, also serving as
illustrations of the Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra, i.e. the theme of the
chapter on the Miraculously Manifested stūpa, an image of Śākyamuni
discoursing on the dharma beneath a tree. On the upper decorated bands,
images of the Thousand Buddhas are displayed. An image of
Ekādaśamukhāvalokiteśvara is also on the southern wall. Above the
____________
62
See Lilla Russell-Smith, Uygur Patronage in Dunhuang: Regional Art Centres on the
Northern Silk Road in the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries (Leiden, Boston: Brill, 2005). Even
so, she is more focused on identifying Uyghur donors and their activities than on viewing
their activities in light of intercultural collaboration.
32
entrance of the eastern wall of the cave, beside the paintings from the
Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra are portraits of the Khotanese royal princes
with inscriptions dating from the early Northern Song.
Since Cao Yangong was the primary force behind the repair of the cave, I
address the inscription commemorating his efforts first. It reads:
On the 7th jiaxu day of the New Moon of the 1st wuchen month in the 9th
bingzi year of Kaibao [(976)], under the Great Song Dynasty, the Guiyijun
Controller of Gua[zhou], Sha[zhou], Surveillance and Supervisory
Commissioner of the Inner Palace, Commissioner in Charge of Duty Group
of Villages, Lord Specially Advanced, Inspector and Grand Mentor,
Concurrently Director of the Secretariat under the Jurisdiction of the Drum
Tower, Founding Lord of the Realm, with merit-land grant of one thousand
five hundred households to provide food, and [additional] land rights of three
hundred households, Cao Yangong has set up this record for the world.63
There are no prayers nor talk of merit in connection with the repair-project.
The record is a simple statement of the Guiyijun ruler’s involvement with
and completion of the repair of Cave 444. In actual fact it is a propaganda-
like record underscoring Cao Yangong’s prestige and power insofar as it
lists his titles and the grants formally bestowed upon him by the Northern
Song.
In contrast to the above record, the inscriptions made by (or on behalf
of?) the Khotanese princes, who participated in the repair work of the cave,
are rather terse and more straight-forward religious in their wording. The
Khotanese donor inscriptions, one for each prince, are interesting for
invoking the two Buddhas of the Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra. They read:
Namo Sakyamuni Buddha utters the Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra. Made as an
offering by the Imperial Prince of Khotan Conglian [(從連)].64
The other reads:
Namo Prabhūtaratna Buddha. On behalf of those who listen to the dharma
and who, therefore, come to the dharma assembly, the Imperial Prince of
Khotan Congyuan [(琮原)] has made this offering.65
____________
63
DMGT: 168: 維大宋開寶九年, 歲次丙子正月戊辰, 朔七日甲戌,
勑歸義軍節度瓜沙等州, 觀察處, 置管內管押番落等, 使特, 進檢校, 太傅, 兼中書,
令譙郡, 開國公食邑一千五百戶, 食實封三百戶, 曹延恭之世建紀.
64
DMGT 168: 南無釋迦牟尼佛說妙法蓮華經. 大寶于闐國皇太子從連供養.
65
DMGT, 168: 南無多寶佛為聽法故來法會. 大寶于闐國皇太子琮原供養.
33
In contrast to Cao Yangong’s record, with its boastful and self-
congratulating content, the two Khotanese dedications are mainly
concerned with expressing religious sentiment. Obviously, the Cao record
underscores who the important donor is; however, the difference between
them is rather striking, especially so since the two Khotanese donors were
royal princes.
There was an aftermath to the repair work on the cave a few years later:
On the 3rd day of the 1st month in the 3rd wuyin year of the reign of
Taipingguo [(i.e. 978)], [there was work done by] three venerable, cave
painting monks [(Chin. heshang kuhua 和尚畫窟 )], among whom Fan
Dingquan [(fl. second half of 10th c., 氾定全)]66 was one.67
This short inscription was evidently a record left by those who carried out
a second repair. It is an important piece of evidence as it refers to monk
artisans carrying out repair (probably also actual painting) in the Mogao
Caves during the Guiyijun period.68
And finally, the short inscription,
On the 8th day of the 10th month in the wuzi [year]69 […]70 during the autumn,
I came with reverence to burn incense.
The Hermitage [Dwelling?] monk, Xianshi [(n.d., 賢師)] came here.71
Now this last inscription, which almost has a ‘Kilroy was here’ feel to it,
is nevertheless an important piece of evidence, not so much for its
information on Cave 444, but because it provides us with first hand
____________
66
Although the reading of this last part of the inscription is somewhat unclear, what is
clear is that ‘Dingquan’ is a Buddhist name and ‘Fan’ the family name.
67
DMGT, 169: 太平國三年戊寅歲正月初三日, 和尚畫窟三人壹氾定全.
68
This piece of information, brief as it is, goes some way in explaining how the intricate
iconography that we find in the caves could be rendered with such iconographical and
compositional precision, tasks which would obviously require expert craftsmen with a high
degree of knowledge in Buddhist imagery and scriptures, something that would naturally
be within the province of Buddhist monks. For a discussion of artisan monks in Dunhuang,
see Sarah E. Fraser, Performing the Visual: Buddhist Wall Painting Practice in China and
Central Asia, 618-960 (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2004), 48–108.
69
Most probably in 988, i.e. the 1st year in the reign of Duangong (端拱) during the
Northern Song.
70
One character missing.
71
DMGT, 169: 戊子申十月八日☐為天秋寅燒香來
蘭 [若?] 僧人
賢師
到此.
34
information that the Mogao Caves were indeed sites for worship and not
mausolea to be left in the dark, as suggested by Robert Sharf in a recent
article.72
Clearly, the pair of short inscriptions reveal that the tableaux from the
Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra was commissioned by the Khotanese princes,
and that it was done at the same time as Cao Yangong repaired the cave.
As such, these terse inscriptions reveal that repair of Cave 444 was a joint,
intercultural effort that took place under the auspices of the Guiyijun
government. Obviously, such a display of patronage of Buddhism must
have been a strong common denominator, which bound together the rulers
of both Dunhuang and Khotan.
7. Conclusion
As we have seen, motives for making donations varied quite a bit among
practicing Buddhists in Dunhuang. Even so, it is clear that offerings in
connection with mortuary practices and beliefs played a significant part in
the production and distribution of Buddhist donations in the region. Since
the donors’ motives are important for understanding the nature of these
offerings and the context in which this practice took place, donor
dedications to commemorate their offerings constitute an important source.
These dedicatory texts, often extensively presented on votive paintings
and in large-scale cave-related projects, and less so in donated books
where space is more restricted, underline the spiritual intentions of the
donors, while at the same time signalling to the rest of society the piety
and devotion behind the act. In this way, donations and the display of
intent serve a dual purpose, namely to communicate to the powers of the
spiritual world the whole-hearted prayer of the donor on the one hand, and
an attempt at presenting him- or herself as a paragon of virtue on the other.
When the discussion falls on donor portraits in votive paintings, it is
obvious that this type of logic is taken one step further. Not only do the
____________
72
Robert Sharf, “Art in the Dark: The Ritual Context of Buddhist Caves in Western
China,” accessed February 12, 2018. http://buddhiststudies.berkeley.edu/peopl
e/faculty/sharf/documents/Sharf%202013%20Art%20in%20the%20Dark.pdf. Currently, I
am also preparing a paper in response to Robert Sharf, see, Henrik H. Sørensen, “‘Light
on Art in the Dark’: On Buddhist Practice and Worship in the Mogao Caves,”
BuddhistRoad Paper 5.6 (2020 forthcoming).
35
donors present their formal prayers in writing, through the portraits they
insert themselves (and their family members) directly into the holy icons,
thereby becoming virtual images of devotion and piety.73 In this sense,
they appear as salient features in the religious paintings whenever they are
displayed for worship and presented with offerings. The donation of
votive paintings was probably never within the means of most common
folks living in Dunhuang during the late medieval period. Nevertheless,
we see many examples of these donated paintings, which do not represent
an overly high artistic standard, something which could be an indication
that lay Buddhists with middling incomes would sometimes be able to
afford them as well.
In comparison to more costly donations, such as votive scroll paintings
or decoration of repair of entire caves, the donation of Buddhist scriptures
was more affordable for ordinary people. Hence this practice flourished in
Shazhou, and by extension, in and around the Mogao Caves. The
colophons with donor dedications encountered in connection with these
donated books are rather terse and brief, in many cases consisting of little
more than a line mentioning the date and nothing else. The examples of
commissioned or self-created booklets reviewed here reveal that this type
of copied scriptures was small, almost insignificantly so, and is unlikely
to have been very costly. One may speculate that they could be ordered by
visiting Buddhists from a shop, probably on site at the Mogao Caves, and
that a brisk business concerning these books took place. In any case, the
booklet format was widely used for copying short sūtras or groups of
sūtras, just as we saw above. The examples given here also document that
apocryphal Buddhist scriptures were evidently very popular as scriptures
to be donated. Exactly why this was so is not clear, but it may have been
because they often are relatively short and, therefore, inexpensive to have
copied. Of the more formally authentic Buddhist scriptures that we often
find copied for donation, we of course have the Vajracheddikā, which, in
manuscript form and in print, was among the most widely copied Buddhist
scriptures in Dunhuang, at least during the 9th–10th centuries.
____________
73
See also the case of Tangut donors in Carmen Meinert, “Creation of Tantric Sacred
Spaces in Eastern Central Asia,” in Buddhism in Central Asia I: Patronage, Legitimation,
Sacred Space, and Pilgrimage, ed. Carmen Meinert and Henrik H. Sørensen (Leiden: Brill,
2020), 244–271.
36
Abbreviations
Beida Collection of Dunhuang Manuscripts preserved in Beijing
University (Beijing daxue 北京大學)
Beijing Collection of Dunhuang Manuscripts preserved at the National
Library in Beijing
DMGT Dunhuang Mogao ku gongyangren tiji 敦煌莫高窟供养人题记
[Donor Inscriptions from the Mogao Caves at Dunhuang], comp.
Dunhuang yanjiuyuan 敦煌研究院. Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe,
1986, 5 vols.
Dx Dunhuang Manuscripts in the Petersburg Collection in The State
Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg
FDC Foguang da cidian 佛光大辭典 [Great Dictionary of Foguang], 8
vols, ed. Ciyi 慈怡 et. al. Gaoxiong: Foguangshan chubanshe,
1988.
Giles Giles, Lionel. Descriptive Catalogue of the Chinese Manuscripts
from Tunhuang in the British Museum. London: The British
Museum, 1957.
OA Oriental Arts Section of the British Museum in London
P. Pelliot Collection of Chinese Dunhuang Manuscripts preserved at
the Bibliothèque National in Paris
S. Stein Collection of Chinese Dunhuang Manuscripts preserved at
the British Library in London
T. Takakusu Junjirō 高順次郎 et. al., ed. Taishō shinshū dai zōkyō
大正新脩大藏經 [Taishō tripiṭaka]. Tokyo: Taishō issaikyō
kankōkai, 1924–1935, 1–55, 85.
ZZ Dainihōn zōkuzōkyō 大日本續藏經 [Extension to the tripiṭaka
[Compiled] in Japan], 90 vols, ed. Kawamura Kōshō 河村孝照 et.
al. Tokyo: Kokusho Kangyōkai, 1980–1988.
Bibliography
Resources
Catalogue des manuscrits Chinois de Touen-Houang, Fonds Pelliot chinois de la
Bibliothèque Nationale, vols I–V, Paris: École française d’Extrême-Orient, 1970–
1995.
37
Dunhuang Mogao ku gongyang ren tiji 敦煌莫高窟供養人題記 [Donor Inscriptions
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敦煌研究院. Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe, 1986.
Dunhuang suijin 敦煌碎金 [Golden Bits from Dunhuang], edited by Tao Qiuying 陶
秋英 and Jiang Liangfu 姜亮夫. Hangzhou: Zhejiang guji chubanshe, 1992.
Song huiyao jigao: Cao xing ziliao huibian 宋會要輯稿: 曹姓资料汇编 [Collation of
Materials Relating to those with Cao Family Names in the Songhuiyao jigao],
edited by Cao Ziqiang 曹自强. Accessed September 13, 2018.
http://www.caoguo.org/xiazai/download/cxzlhb.pdf.
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Amoghapāśakalparāja. T. 1092.20.
Dabei xin tuoluoni 大悲心陀羅尼 [dhāraṇī of the Heart of Great Compassion]. T.
1064.20.
Fanwang jing 梵網經 [Pseudo-Brahmajāla Scripture]. T. 1484.24.
Foding zunsheng jiaju lingyan tuoluoni 佛頂尊勝加句靈驗陀羅尼 [Bodoṣṇīṣa-
Augmenting Phrases of the Spell of Numinous Response]. T. 974C.19.
Foshuo yan luo wang shouji he si zhong ni xiu sheng qi zhai gongde wang shengjingtu
jing 佛說閻羅王受記合匹衆逆脩生七齋功德往生凈土經 [Scripture Spoken by
the Buddha on King Yama Receiving the Records on Joining the Documents of
the Multitude of Refractions and Regulating the Living through the Meritorious
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Hṛdāyaprajñāpāramitāsūtra. T. 251.8.
Mahāprajñāpāramitāsūtra. T. 220.5.
Mārīcīdevīsūtra. T. 1256.21.
Nīlakaṇṭhakadhāraṇī. T. 1064.20.
Qian jin yifang 千金醫方 [Medical Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold Pieces], see
http://seirouoosone.web.fc2.com/SennkinnYokuhouHanntai.pdf.
Saddharmapuṇḍarīka. T. 262.9.
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Great Transference of Merit]. T. 825.17.
Sukhāvatīvūyhasūtra. T. 367.12.
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Xu gaoseng chuan 續高僧傳 [Continuation of the Histories of Famous Monks]. T.
2060.50.
Xuming jing 續命經 [Scripture on the Extension of the Span of Life]. T. 2889.85.
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P. 2805
P. 3136
P. 3824
38
S. 86
S. 5646
S. 5669
Dx 32A
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40

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BuddhistRoad

Dynamics in Buddhist Networks in Eastern Central Asia 6th–14th Centuries

BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3

GIVING AND THE CREATION OF

This project has received funding from the European Research

When looking at the phenomena of giving in a specific Buddhist context,

BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3. Sørensen, “Giving and the Creation of Merit”

BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3. Sørensen, “Giving and the Creation of Merit”

2. Motives for Making Donations

BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3. Sørensen, “Giving and the Creation of Merit”

BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3. Sørensen, “Giving and the Creation of Merit”

BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3. Sørensen, “Giving and the Creation of Merit”

3. Donating Buddhist Icons: Paintings and Images

A majority of donations to the Buddhist communities in Dunhuang by

BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3. Sørensen, “Giving and the Creation of Merit”

BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3. Sørensen, “Giving and the Creation of Merit”

BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3. Sørensen, “Giving and the Creation of Merit”

BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3. Sørensen, “Giving and the Creation of Merit”

BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3. Sørensen, “Giving and the Creation of Merit”

BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3. Sørensen, “Giving and the Creation of Merit”

Figure 3. Detail of OA 1919,0101,0.28.

BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3. Sørensen, “Giving and the Creation of Merit”

The dedication itself reads (fig. 5):

BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3. Sørensen, “Giving and the Creation of Merit”

BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3. Sørensen, “Giving and the Creation of Merit”

BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3. Sørensen, “Giving and the Creation of Merit”

4. Donating Buddhist Scriptures

There are not substantial differences between donor dedication motifs

BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3. Sørensen, “Giving and the Creation of Merit”

BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3. Sørensen, “Giving and the Creation of Merit”

BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3. Sørensen, “Giving and the Creation of Merit”

BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3. Sørensen, “Giving and the Creation of Merit”

BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3. Sørensen, “Giving and the Creation of Merit”

BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3. Sørensen, “Giving and the Creation of Merit”

BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3. Sørensen, “Giving and the Creation of Merit”

BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3. Sørensen, “Giving and the Creation of Merit”

BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3. Sørensen, “Giving and the Creation of Merit”

BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3. Sørensen, “Giving and the Creation of Merit”

Not all donations carried specific requests, such as transference of merit

BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3. Sørensen, “Giving and the Creation of Merit”

The text reads:

BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3. Sørensen, “Giving and the Creation of Merit”

BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3. Sørensen, “Giving and the Creation of Merit”

6. Cross-Cultural Collaboration in the Repair of Cave 444

The last aspect of donation at Dunhuang of interest here, concerns

BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3. Sørensen, “Giving and the Creation of Merit”

BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3. Sørensen, “Giving and the Creation of Merit”

BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3. Sørensen, “Giving and the Creation of Merit”

BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3. Sørensen, “Giving and the Creation of Merit”

BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3. Sørensen, “Giving and the Creation of Merit”

BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3. Sørensen, “Giving and the Creation of Merit”

BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3. Sørensen, “Giving and the Creation of Merit”

BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3. Sørensen, “Giving and the Creation of Merit”

BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3. Sørensen, “Giving and the Creation of Merit”

BuddhistRoad Paper 4.3. Sørensen, “Giving and the Creation of Merit”

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